The Creature
by MajorBalto 243
Summary: A creature is terrorizing Nome, but what if another creature becomes a scapegoat? Rated M for blood, gore, sexual suggestions and themes, language, disputes among friends, and friends hurting each other
1. Prologue

**_The Creature_**

"Mercy? You think I should show you mercy? I don't give a fuck about who you are Balto. I don't fucking care. You have become Steele."

-Alex

* * *

_This land is cursed. We are all prey. It's out there somewhere. It will hunt us, it will find us, and it will kill us. I don't know where it is. It could be watching me type this right now. We blamed bears, but we should have thought about mythical creatures. Don't laugh; the damn thing is out there. It waits, it plans, it thinks, and it learns. This creature is hunting us. It can sneak up on us when we aren't expecting it. People have reported that they have seen it, but they can't tell me what they've spotted. When I find it, I'll bring it down. Permanently._

* * *

"You think you deserve my pity? After what you did? You left me to die out there. You've changed Balto. So fuck you."

-Alex

* * *

_Prologue _

A wolf/ German shepherd mix and a German shepherd are lying on the ground panting. The hybrid turns his head and smiles at the German shepherd.

"I love you Elizabeth."

"I love you too Alex!"

Alex sighs heavily. "Well, that was great!"

Elizabeth raises her head and frowns at Alex.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"No…? I can't wait… for… puppies?"

"Are you uncertain of what I'm going to say or are you asking questions?"

"Uh… I'm not… Yes…?"

"Yes what?"

"Yes… I don't know."

"You know you're ruining any chances of me being your mate right?"

"I can't do this," says Alex and he pushes himself up on his feet.

"Alex, where are you going?"

"Out."

Alex walks over to the door and pushes it open with his nose. He steps outside and closes the door behind him.

* * *

Alex is walking through the cold, dry snow. The snow always intrigued him. In the United States, the snow was always wet and mushy. In Alaska, it was dry. Sure it was wet when it melted, but it felt like a powder than anything else.

A loud roar pierces the silent veil.

"What the…?"

Alex's ears rise up and he starts to listen intently. The loud roar echoes off the buildings, but another one erupts again. He listens to it and he pinpoints the sound emanating from the forest.

"Hmm… intriguing. Well… I guess I should figure out what it is then…? Maybe I shouldn't. I don't know."

Alex looks back at the building he came out of. "Elizabeth always told me to be braver. I'll go check it out."

Alex turns around and makes his way towards the forest.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Alex is at the tree line. He puts his snout towards the ground and starts to inhale the scents around him. A bloodcurdling howl sets him upright. He looks to his right and sees two crimson eyes staring at him.

"Oh God," screams Alex before turning tail and running. He runs as fast as he can and when he looks back, he sees it chasing after him.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Alex looks directly ahead of him, but slams right into a tree, releasing a yelp as his front left leg releases a loud crack before he falls to the ground in a haze.

He looks towards where the creature was chasing him and sees that it's right next to him. _'If you're going to kill me, please do it quick.'_

The creature leans down and starts to smell him. Alex couldn't do anything for the creature had one of its hand/claw things on him.

"Please… don't… kill me," Alex whimpers out.

The creature lifts one of its hands/claws and touches his broken leg. Alex releases a loud yelp and the creature removes its hand/claw.

Alex whimpers in pain, but becomes worried when the creature picks him up. The creature starts to head into Nome, carrying a terrified Alex.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the creature enters the town of Nome and starts to sniff the air. Alex is still looking at the thing with interest. It has the face of a humanoid, but it has hair covering its body. It is also really tall. Taller than the average human, if he knew any tall human.

The creature walks in front of where his mate lives and sets him down on the porch. It reaches towards the door and knocks once before running out of town and into the wilderness.

Alex turns his attention to the door and watches it open. He sees Elizabeth's owner, a medium height black man walk out of the house. He looks around the porch trying to see if his mind is playing tricks on him. He shrugs his shoulders before turning around.

As he's about to enter the house, he hears soft whine. "What the hell?"

He turns around and sees something lying on the front porch. "What the hell indeed."

He walks over and sees that it's Alex. "Oh, you poor thing. Don't worry buddy, I'll take care of you."

He slides his arms underneath Alex and slowly picks him up. When Alex was off the ground, he turns around and walks inside.

**A/N: This is the edited chapter of The Creature. I'm removing the sex scenes because I was made aware that they are not allowed. So sorry if you were reading because of the sex. Find something else to enjoy with the story or go look somewhere else. R&R**


	2. What's Out There

_What's Out There_

"Alex, you and I both know that I didn't leave you to die! I did everything I could!"

-Balto

* * *

"Doctor, can you help him or not?"

"Of course I can help him. Mr. Thompson, I will fix his leg. You have my word."

"Thank you doctor, but please, call me Jake."

Jake Thompson had carried Alex to the clinic when the sun started to rise. As soon as he got there, he had barged in and asked for help with his dog. The doctor decided that he would help him take care of the hybrid.

Alex looks up at Jake and whines. Jake puts his hand on Alex's head and begins to rub the base of Alex's ears.

* * *

Outside the window, two wolf/husky hybrids are watching the doctor take care of Alex's broken leg.

"Wonder what happened to him."

The hybrid with hazel eyes and tan and grey fur looks at the other one with grey fur that has a brown hue in it. He also has blue eyes.

"Isn't it obvious? He ran into something."

"Kyle, it's Alex; he always looks ahead of him no matter what he's doing."

Kyle looks at the other hybrid and frowns. "Then what do you suppose happened to him Balto?"

Balto looks back as the doctor finishes wrapping the bandages on Alex's leg.

"Kyle, I don't know what happened. But we'll talk to him about it _nicely_. Don't threaten him or insult him. Just talk to him alright?"

Kyle sighs heavily. "Fine, I won't tease him."

Balto smiles slightly. "Good," and he watches as the man who had brought Alex into the clinic slowly picks him up and carries him out.

The two hybrids turn their attention to the front of the clinic and they see the man carrying Alex walk outside and head towards his home. They both turn around and follow him.

* * *

After fifteen minutes, Jake has placed Alex so he's comfortable and had made sure that Alex had everything he needed before he had left to go to work.

Elizabeth is lying right next to Alex. She looks at him and nuzzles him. He smiles and nuzzles her back.

"Alex, I'm sorry about before. I was just… I don't know, just upset last night, that's all."

Alex looks at her and licks her cheek. He then looks her in the eyes and smiles.

"Listen Liz, you don't have to apologize. I chose to investigate the sound. So if anything, I should apologize to you for leaving the way I did."

"Alex, you have a broken leg. Why would you apologize for getting a broken leg?"

Alex sighs heavily. "Liz, I just want to apologize for walking out on you the way I did."

"Alex, there's no need for you to apologize. You're with me and I'm with you. Nothing will get between us."

"Liz, I love you so much!"

"Alex, I love you too!"

Elizabeth lays her head down and closes her eyes. Alex decides to do the same and they both fall asleep.

* * *

Balto and Kyle are approaching the front porch to check on Alex when they smell something strange.

"What the hell was that," asks Kyle.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it isn't from around here."

Kyle looks towards the forest and sighs heavily. "Well, it came from the forest."

Balto turns his head to the forest as well. "Well, then we better go in and investigate."

"What," asks Kyle, fear evident in his voice.

"Kyle, don't be afraid. I doubt we'll actually see it."

"It's not that I'm worried about. What if we're still out there when night comes? What happens then?"

"We head home. Simple as that," Balto answers matter-of-factly.

"But what if that thing won't let us leave?"

"Kyle, we'll leave before it becomes dark. That way nothing bad happens. So let's head out."

Kyle and Balto both run towards the forest.

* * *

A red and cream female husky is walking next to a female grey husky.

The grey husky looks at the red and cream one and smiles. "Jenna thanks for telling that story to me. It made me not stress as much for my date with Kodi."

Jenna smiles at the grey husky. "Dusty, it was my pleasure. Besides, I didn't come up with that story on my own."

"Really," asks Dusty with a frown, "who helped you with the story?"

"Alex, Hunter, and Ryan helped me with it."

"I feel like that story was probably dirty."

"No, it… What do you mean you feel like it's dirty?"

"Well, you've mentioned that Alex, Hunter, and Ryan are cute. They look just like Balto so you're probably attracted to them slightly. I feel like you made love to all of them… at the same time."

"Uh… Dusty… I would never betray Balto. Besides, Ryan has his eye on you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because every time you're brought up for some discussion, his eyes light up. He's very attracted to you."

"What about Kodi?"

"You can go out with him, but if you want to change things up, you can go out with Ryan."

"Yeah, but Ryan isn't on the sled team so… I don't know."

"Ryan helped Alex and Balto save the children from diphtheria. Would you rather date someone on the sled team or someone who's a hero?"

Dusty frowns at Jenna. "Why would you say that? You make it sound like you don't want me to date Kodi."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I'm just saying that you can date whoever you want, that's all."

"Ah, well how good is Ryan?"

"What do you mean?"

"How _good_ is he?"

"Ohh! Why, some of my friends say he's really good! How come you want to know this?"

"Well… I… you know…"

"You want to have sex with him, don't you?"

"What? Of course not! Why would you think that?"

"Because you're blushing and drooling."

"What? I am? Oh God!"

"Dusty, don't worry. It's completely natural."

"Thanks Jenna."

"You're welcome Dusty. Now go on and have fun. Kodi's probably expecting you at the boiler room, right?"

"Oh shit! Jenna I have to go! Bye!"

Dusty turns and runs off towards the boiler room.

Jenna starts to laugh. "I hope she makes the right choice."

Jenna turns and heads towards her home.

**A/N: Wow! I didn't expect to get reviews right off the back! :D**

**So Dusty has feelings for Ryan and Kodi. Wonder how that will play out. R&R**


	3. Hunters

_Hunters_

"Balto, just relax. Alex, stop yelling and just calm down. Everything will be alright."

-Kyle

* * *

Dusty is enjoying her date with Kodi. They went running along the beach and along the tree line. After that they went to the boiler room and talked before eating some steak that the butcher had given Balto.

Kodi looks at Dusty and smiles. "So how are you enjoying your steak?"

Dusty looks up and smiles. "It's pretty good!"

"I can tell. There's barely anything left."

Dusty looks down at her plate and sees that she literally devoured the whole steak.

"Oh, I guess I was hungry after all."

Kodi starts to chuckle and he walks over to her and nuzzles Dusty's neck.

"Thanks for spending time with me. Maybe we can do this again sometime."

Dusty looks at Kodi and nods her head. "Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

After the date had ended, Dusty is walking home when she sees Ryan walking along the road. She runs over to him and stops right next to him.

"Hey Ryan."

Ryan, a grey wolf/ husky mix with silver eyes, turns towards Dusty and smiles.

"Hello Ms. Dusty."

"Why do you call me Ms. Dusty?"

"You aren't a mister. That's why I call you Ms. Dusty."

"Oh, well that makes sense."

Ryan chuckles slightly, causing Dusty to frown at him.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. Just laughing on how lucky I am for being stopped by a pretty girl."

"Pretty? Not cute or beautiful?"

"Well, pretty was just a quick thought. If I wasn't tired, I probably would have called you gorgeous."

Dusty starts to blush. "Really? You think I'm gorgeous?"

Ryan smiles at her. "Of course I do. Does your date not call you gorgeous?"

"Well, he calls me beautiful, but never gorgeous."

"What? Why not?"

Dusty begins to cry. "I… I don't know. He just never c-calls me th-that!"

Ryan nuzzles her neck. "It's alright Dusty. Come with me. I'll make you feel better."

Dusty chuckles slightly as tears are still streaming down the side of her face. "I bet you're probably going to try to screw me, right?"

Ryan shakes his head. "No, why would I take advantage of you? I just want to know why you're crying."

"Okay then, I'll follow you inside the house. But don't take advantage of me, please."

"Don't worry Dusty, I won't do that."

* * *

_Ten minutes later_

Ryan and Dusty are inside Ryan's home. Ryan is looking at Dusty and frowns at her.

"So, why were you crying?"

Dusty looks over at the door. "I… I don't know. I just got emotional, that's all."

"You got emotional? For what?"

"I don't know, I'm just not to used to having strangers compliment me."

"I'm not a stranger."

Dusty looks towards Ryan and smiles. "True, but I barely know you. I only know your name. But I wish I could know you better."

"Ok, then let's talk."

Dusty shakes her head. "No, I would rather not talk. Maybe… Maybe we can do something."

"Do something? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know."

Dusty stands up and lets her tail slide under Ryan's chin.

"Oh, that's what you mean."

Ryan pushes himself to his feet and follows Dusty into the bedroom.

* * *

_Two minutes later_

Ryan and Dusty are lying on their backs smiling. Dusty suddenly turns her head towards Ryan and frowns.

"Well, what happens now Ryan?"

"Nothing. We finished with what we were doing. I guess we can just lie here if you want."

"Ok, that sounds good. What do I tell Kodi though?"

"Tell him whatever you want to tell him. If you do tell him what we did and he comes after me wanting to fight, he'll be biting off more than he can chew."

"You act like you don't care."

"Well, I do care, but it's your call on what you do next. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

Dusty smiles and nuzzles his neck to which he licks her cheek.

* * *

_Jake Thompson's house_

Jake is typing a message on his typewriter. The message reads:

_My dog's mate Alex… at least, that's the name he responds to, was found on my front porch with a broken leg. I don't know what happened, but something is out there. I know this because I heard it last night. Its roar made my blood run cold. I tried to get back to sleep, but then I hear a knock on my door. I open it up and I see something running off into the distance. I decide to ignore it and as I'm about to enter my house, like I mentioned earlier, I found Alex lying on the front porch with a broken leg. Whatever is out there, I want to know what it is._

**A/N: This is the other edit within the chapter. If you want the sex scenes back, complain to FFN about it. Tell them to bring MA rating back. Am I going to complain? No because I don't care. Now enjoy the new chapter or don't. I cannot force you to do anything. R&R**


	4. The Beginning

_The Beginning_

"I love Dusty and she loves me! Besides, I think she's having my pups."

-Ryan

* * *

It's been three weeks since the first 'sighting' of the creature and already people are putting it in the past. It's as if they don't care anymore, which is unusual for a small town of maybe thirty plus people.

Alex and Hunter, a grey and tan wolf/ husky hybrid with blue eyes, are watching the people go about their business as usual while they sit upon a roof of one of the buildings.

"So, what do you think Mr. Cleaver is doing?"

Mr. Cleaver was the nickname the dogs gave the butcher because they always spotted him with a cleaver… or something in his hand.

"I don't know Hunter. Maybe he's going to see his lover."

"Him? Really? There's no way-"

"Hey guys!"

Alex and Hunter both spin around in fright and see Kyle lying on his back laughing.

"Kyle! What the hell," shouts Hunter.

"Yeah Kyle, what the hell is wrong with you? We could have fallen off the roof," shouts Alex in fury."

"You guys, just relax. I meant nothing by it. I just saw you two up here and wanted to stop by. Hey Alex, how's the leg?"

Alex looks at his left leg. "Eh, it's alright. Not like I haven't broken a bone before. I just need to warm it up before I do one of my long runs."

Hunter turns his head towards Alex and frowns. "Long runs? How far do you run?"

"Well, I usually try to run from here to Dead Horse. I don't do it in one day though. It usually takes me a whole week plus to make the trip."

"What do you eat," asks Kyle.

"I usually eat whatever I come across."

"Like what?"

"Well, mostly I eat snowshoe hares."

"Ah, so why do you make those trips," asks Hunter with a frown.

"Well, I usually make those trips to prepare myself for any races I might have to do."

"Ok, so when do you think you'll be leaving?"

"Well, Elizabeth might be having pups so I'll be sticking around here for awhile."

"Are you still mounting her," asks Kyle with a grin.

"Well, I… Why do you want to know about my relationship?"

"I'm just wondering, that's all."

"Well stop wondering. It's weird," Alex says while glaring at Kyle.

"Alright alright, I'll leave that out of our discussions."

"Good. You don't see me bringing up Allison, right?"

"Please don't talk about her. Last thing I need is her brought up again."

"Why? Just because you burst too early doesn't mean anything."

"What?! How did you hear about that? How did you find out?!"

Alex starts to laugh and he heads towards the edge of the roof. He looks back and smiles.

"Allison told me," before jumping off the roof and landing on a stack of crates below.

* * *

Balto and Ryan are walking around Nome, passing the General Store and the Butcher.

"So Ryan, Dusty told me about your talk three weeks ago."

"Yeah? What did she say?"

"She said that you two had some fun. Would you like to elaborate on that?"

"No, I'd rather you just drop it."

"Drop it? Why would I drop something like this? You fucked my son's girlfriend."

Ryan stops and looks at Balto and glares. "So fucking what! I treated her better than your fucking son ever did!"

"Ryan, that's enough," shouts someone from the roof above them.

They both look up and see Hunter and Kyle staring at them.

"Ryan, just go somewhere else. Balto, calm down and go see Jenna. You two don't want to do anything stupid, right?"

Balto turns around and walks off while Ryan glares at Hunter before heading to the post office to watch the sled teams arriving.

* * *

Ryan is sitting in front of the post office, watching as the sled team is preparing to take off. He sees Kodi being put up front and Dusty near the middle.

"Ignorant prick," Ryan mutters under his breath.

He suddenly spots Alex preparing himself for something.

He hears Kodi ask, "Alright Alex, you ready to race us?"

Alex starts to laugh. "I'm not here to race. I'm here to head off to Dead Horse."

"Wait, I thought you weren't heading out until after Elizabeth had her pups."

"Yeah well, change of plans. I can't really stay here for another month or so. I want to see something different. So I'll probably outrun your little ragtag group that you call a team."

Kodi starts to laugh. "Yeah? How about when you get back, we race. I want to see if your boasting has any weight to it."

Kirby looks at Alex and frowns. "So, what are you doing up in Dead Horse?"

Alex looks at Kirby and smiles. "That's on a 'you-don't-need-to-know' basis. Now get ready. I think you're about to head out soon."

Kirby looks ahead and soon, the sled team takes off with Alex right next to them.

* * *

_Three hours later_

Alex is running through the snow, making his way to Dead Horse. Immediately, his leg begins to hurt and he stops for a quick breath.

"Oh, this isn't good."

He looks up and sees two crimson eyes staring at him.

"Oh, you again. Why are you following me?"

The creature remains silent.

"Ah, remaining quiet, eh? Is there something preventing you from talking?"

The creature still remains silent. Alex decides to investigate and as soon as he took a step forward, the creature growls at him.

"Wait a minute. You're… you're not the same thing I saw from before! What are you?"

The creature immediately charges forward and Alex turns and runs as fast as he can. The fear building within him suddenly erupts and his mind goes into panic mode. The adrenaline masks the pain in his left leg and he pushes himself to the limit. Survival instincts kick in and he starts to push himself even harder. He needs to make it back to Nome. No matter what, he has to make it back.

_'Must… not… think. Must… concentrate… on running!'_

He can hear the creature slowing down, but he wasn't going to look back. That is the last thing he wanted to do.

After what feels like an eternity of running, he hears the creature slow down and it roars at him before disappearing. Alex decides that he is going to keep running until he makes it back to Elizabeth.

* * *

Ryan is still sitting in front of the post office, not really sure what he's waiting for. He gazes upon the fields of white and spots something rushing towards town.

"What the heck?"

"What the heck is that," he hears something ask above him.

Ryan looks up and sees Boris sitting on top of the roof of the post office.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's coming in fast!"

The two of them watch as it gets closer and closer. As soon as it was near the entrance to town, Boris shouts out, "It's Alex!"

Alex had finally made it back to Nome, but he was more worse-for-wear than before he left.

"Alex, what happened to you?"

Alex turns his attention to Ryan. "Some… Something… Out… th-there… R-red e-eyes… Ch-chased me… I… I ran… N-never stopped…"

Alex immediately becomes dazed and falls over onto his side and loses consciousness.

Ryan looks up at Boris. "Boris! Help me get him to the boiler room! He's freezing cold!"

"I'll get Hunter and Kyle! Maybe they can help!"

Boris climbs off of the post office and starts running around the town trying to find Hunter and Kyle.

**A/N: What do you think the creature is? No, not the creature in chapter 1, but the creature in this chapter. Well, you can do both if you want.**

**I'm having so much fun it should be illegal! Anyways, I'm trying to make the chapters longer than the previous one. So in other words, chapter 1 is the shortest and this chapter is the longest. R&R**


	5. Retribution

_Retribution_

"Ryan! Get the fuck away from Dusty! If you don't, he'll kill you!"

-Hunter

* * *

Hunter is walking back to his home, which is where Ryan lives, being that they're brothers. As he's walking he hears, "Hunter! Hunter! HUNTER!"

Hunter turns around and sees Boris charging towards him. "Oh, it's you Boris- JESUS CHRIST!"

Boris had tried to slow down, but his speed was too great and he ended up sliding towards Hunter. Hunter sort of panicked and braced himself… for the impact of a bird.

When Boris made contact with Hunter's leg, the impact made him dazed so he fell onto his back. The sight of this made Hunter laugh.

"Oh God! Hahaha! That was so ridiculous! Hahahaha! You… you… you don't look so good," Hunter asks, "Are you alright?"

Boris is lying on his back moaning in pain. After a while, Boris focuses on Hunter's face and glares.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Just standing there acting like wall! Sometimes, you remind me of bears!"

Hunter is about to say something when he hears "Uncle Boris! Uncle Boris!"

Hunter starts to chuckle. "Heh, 'Uncle Boris'! How sweet."

Boris pushes himself to his feet. "Ahh, I need to get out of here!"

"Heh, what's the rush," Hunter asks while putting his face closer to Boris. "It's not like anything bad will happen, right?"

"I don't know what you're applying boychick, but we should probably leave, oh I don't know, RIGHT NOW!"

"Alright, Jesus, you don't have to yell! Just get on my back and we'll be off."

Boris walks around Hunter, much to Hunter's annoyance. "Just get the fuck on!"

Boris glares at Hunter, but climbs onto Hunter's back. Hunter runs off to the post office because that's away from the current location.

* * *

Hunter makes it to the post office, still carrying a disgruntled Boris, who keeps complaining about him running too fast.

"Hunter SLOW DOWN!"

"Shut up! No one likes a back seat driver!"

Boris crosses his wings and grunts.

"If you don't stop complaining, I will turn around!"

"Fine, just stop next to the post office so I can get off this crazy ride!"

Hunter sighs and simply tosses Boris into the snow by jerking his body to the left.

"Whoa! What the- Oompf!"

Hunter looks back and sees Boris's feet sticking out of the snow. Hunter turns and walks over to where Boris is and, grabbing one of his legs, pulls Boris out of the snow.

Boris looks at Hunter and glares. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Dropping me into snow like that?! I should whack you as hard as-"

Hunter drops Boris on the road. "Hmm, you taste like chicken!"

"You- Wait, what?!"

"I said, you taste like chicken," Hunter says maliciously.

Boris turns and runs into the alley. "Help! He's trying to eat me!"

Hunter watches Boris disappear into the alley. "Fucking annoying pigeon," says Hunter while he turns to see Ryan lying on his back, "What the hell?"

He runs over to Ryan and asks, "What happened to you?"

Ryan regains consciousness and looks up at Hunter. "It… Alex… upset… at me… I… I slept with Dusty… going… going to get… Balto…"

Hunter sighs heavily. Whatever Ryan had done, he brought the consequences upon himself.

He starts to clean any of Ryan's wounds before dragging him to the boiler room.

* * *

_Twelve hours later_

"Ahhh, Alex, don't you love the fresh air," asks Balto with a smile.

"Fresh air yes; Alaska air not really. Too bloody cold if you ask me."

"Well, I wasn't asking you. Anyways… Well look who it is. It's Kyle."

Kyle is sitting on the side of the road watching people enter the town near the post office. He looks over and smiles at the two.

"Oh hi guys! I didn't see you two coming."

He stands up and trots over to Balto and Alex. As he approaches them, he sits down and smiles.

"So, what's going on with you two today? Usually you don't hang out with each other."

"Well, Alex told me that Ryan screwed Dusty. But she had already told me so… I'm glad I can trust him."

"Ryan screwed Dusty?! And Kaltag, Nikki, and Star didn't know about this?"

"No, they didn't know."

Kaltag, Nikki, and Star were basically the town watch for the dogs. Nothing went unreported, whether it needed to be or not.

"Yeah? That's surprising."

Alex looks past them and growls. "Look who's fucking here. Ryan and Hunter."

Balto looks at where Alex is looking and sighs. "Well, we better get this over with."

"Get what over with," asks Kyle.

"Ryan and Hunter are probably looking for a fight, or at least Ryan is. He'll want to fight."

Alex and Balto walk to where Ryan and Hunter are. Kyle watches in fear. He wasn't used to picking sides and now he'll be forced to. _'Please don't force me to do anything! Please!'_

* * *

As the two groups approached each other, growls started to emanate from both sides.

Balto glares at Ryan. "What the hell were you thinking? Sleeping with my son's girlfriend!"

"Fuck you Balto! I love Dusty and she loves me! Besides, I think she's having my pups. So back off you prick!"

Balto growls at Ryan. "You had no right doing what you did! If I wasn't checking myself right now, I'd rip you apart!"

Alex sits on his haunches and yawns loudly, causing Balto and Ryan to look at him.

Alex looks at the two and frowns. "What?"

Balto and Ryan both shout, "Do you mind?!" before looking back at each other and growling again.

"Balto, you always have to get involved with anything that gets you what you want!"

Balto shakes his head. "That's not true and you know it!"

"Oh really? When you brought back the medicine, did you do it for the children or did you do it for Jenna?"

"I did it for the children!"

"And yet you still got the girl. What did Alex and I get? Absolutely nothing! Alex nearly died on the way back and you two got in a fight with Alex yelling, 'You think you deserve my pity? After what you did? You left me to die out there. You've changed Balto. So fuck you.'"

"And what did you do? You didn't do anything to help! You tried to get us to fight, but Alex and I were not the fighting type. The only reason we didn't fight is because we talked our way through it!"

Ryan growls and immediately charges at Balto. Balto is slammed into the ground and he feels Ryan biting into the back of his neck. He extends his neck and closes his jaws around Ryan's front right leg.

Ryan screams in pain and Balto twists his head and a loud snap is heard.

"Jesus Balto, I think you broke his leg," screams Alex.

Balto slams his head into Ryan's chest and he not only knocks the wind out of Ryan's lungs, but manages to knock him onto the ground. He looms over Ryan and brings his jaws down on Ryan's snout. Ryan yelps in pain and tears start forming in his eyes as Balto starts to shake his head, digging his teeth in deeper.

"Hunter, help me stop this!"

"No, Balto will know when to stop. Besides, my brother needs to know when to fight and when to run."

"You're just going to let your brother get his ass beaten?!"

"It'll teach him a lesson."

Alex shakes his head. _'What kind of fucked up family does that?'_

Balto let's go of Ryan's snout and slashes Ryan's face with his claws. Ryan screams in agony as blood starts to drip from his face and mouth. Balto, deciding the fight was over, turns and delivers a swift kick from his left back leg and it makes contact with Ryan's head. Ryan becomes unconscious, mostly from the fight, and Balto walks past Alex.

"Let's go," he says.

Alex nods his head and follows Balto away from Ryan and Hunter.

* * *

Hunter grabs the back of Ryan's neck and drags him into the boiler room. After he accomplished that, he started to clean out Ryan's wounds so that they wouldn't get infected.

"Jesus, Balto sure has a set of teeth. They dug right in. You're lucky he didn't blind you."

* * *

Alex is walking with Balto in silence.

Finally, Balto breaks the silence and asks, "Did I go too far?"

"Too far? Nearly breaking his neck might have been too far, but he was trying to do th same to you. But in my opinion, I'm not sure because I don't get into fights."

"Alex, you and I both know that you're trying to avoid answering my question. Now answer honestly; did I go too far?"

Alex starts to open and close his jaw as if he's trying to loosen something stuck in his teeth.

"Well, yeah, you might have gone a little over the line."

"That's what I thought. Oh God, what am I going to do?"

"Relax, now he knows not to mess with you."

Balto turns and glares at Alex. "You're not helping at all."

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not used to giving advice like this. You taught him a lesson and he was in the wrong for attacking so you fought back. End of discussion."

Balto shakes his head and sighs. "Well, I should probably go see Jenna. She's probably worried sick."

"Why would she be worried?"

"Well, something has been walking around the trawler so I've been sleeping at her place. So I'm going to check in with her so she knows that I'm alright."

"Wow, my mate doesn't do that. She knows that I can handle myself. Sort of."

Balto starts to laugh. "Well alright then. I'll see you later," and he runs around a corner and disappears."

"Yeah, you too… I guess," Alex responds with despair in his voice. He looks down in sorrow and walks towards his home. As he approaches the door, he pushes it open with his snout and walks inside before closing it behind him.

**A/N: Well this was fun to write! I could have added more stuff with the fight scene though.**

**Anyways, thanks to those who have been reading this story and reviewing! You make me actually want to write! ^-^ R&R**


	6. Technique

_Technique_

"It is technique that separates the amateurs from the pros. Balto and I are pros."

-Alex

* * *

"Technique? Technique doesn't mean a damn thing. Technique doesn't mean a damn thing when you're in a life or death situation. The only thing technique will do is get you killed."

-Balto

* * *

Alex walks into the living room and sees Elizabeth staring at him.

"What is it," asks Alex.

"How do you open the door?"

"Why?"

"Every time I push the door with my snout, it doesn't open, but when you do it, it opens. How do you do it?"

"It's a technique that Balto taught me. If I told you what it is, you probably would never let me inside again."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

"Oh yeah? How do you know?"

"Well, Balto and I have the keys to the city, in a way."

"The keys to the city? Where did you get those?"

"Liz, let's talk about something else."

"Ok, Boris wants you to rescue him from his 'nephews'."

Alex sighs heavily. "Figures. Alright, I'll be back."

Alex turns and walks to the door before pushing it open and closing it behind him.

"How does he do that?"

* * *

"Let go of me," shouts Boris.

Two polar bears, one shorter than the other, are hugging Boris.

"We love you Uncle Boris," shouts the shorter one. The taller one whimpers in agreement.

Boris turns his head and spots Alex walk onto the trawler. "Oh good, it's you! Please, get these bears off of me!"

Alex looks at Boris and falls onto the deck laughing. "Oh… oh! Hahahahahahahaha! You… hahahaha!"

"Okay, Mr. Giggles, ha, ha, ha, ha. Now please, get me out of here!"

The smaller polar bear looks at Alex and smiles. "Luk, look! It's Uncle Alex!"

Luk whimpers in response. "What did he say," asks Alex.

"Oh, he's just happy to see you Uncle Alex!"

Alex looks at Boris and sighs. "Alright Muk, Luk, time to let go of him. You might ruffle his tail feathers."

Muk and Luk nod their heads and they both let go of Boris. Boris brushes himself off and walks over to Alex and glares.

"What's this 'Ruffle his tail feathers'? How about I ruffle… your… tail… feathers…?"

Alex frowns as Boris backs up into Muk and Luk, who are showing signs of pure terror.

"What is it," asks Alex.

Muk and Luk only point at Alex. Alex cocks his head, but suddenly realizes that they're pointing behind him. He turns around and sees something… something fierce looking. It has two crimson eyes, sharp claws, sharp fangs, and the look of extreme rage on its face, or rather, what he could see of its face.

Alex screams and runs towards the other side of the trawler where Muk, Luk, and Boris had disappeared to. He jumps off and he hears the sound of something swipe at him from behind.

He lands on the snow and nearly stumbles, but manages to regain himself before catching up to Boris and the others. After that, they ran towards Nome.

When they made it back, Alex and the others are trying to catch their breaths. For some reason, his back felt wet.

Muk looks at Alex and he puts his claws over his mouth.

"What is it," Alex asks.

Boris turns his head and sees what Muk is looking at.

"Boychick, we need to get you some help. You're bleeding."

Alex frowns and looks at his back. He can see three claw marks along the width of his back.

"Oh, that's going to hurt. Next time I have to leave town, I'm going stay home and sleep. Every time I go out, I see the fucker standing within my vicinity."

Boris shakes his head. "No, others have seen it as well. Now let's get-"

"Alex, what happened to you?"

Alex, Boris, Muk, and Luk turn to see Jenna racing towards them. Alex moves so that his head is blocking her view from his claw marks.

"Oh hi Jenna."

Jenna ignores him and when she gets in front of him, she moves his head out of the way and looks at his wounds.

"Oh God! What happened to you?!"

"Nothing happened. It's just a scratch."

"That is not a scratch! That's too deep! You need that to get bandaged."

"Jenna, I'm fine."

"No you're not! There's blood dripping on the ground! You need help!"

Alex looks back at his claw marks and sighs. "Alright, I'll bite. What are you going to-"

Jenna sits down and howls. "Jesus Christ Jenna! What the hell was-"

She howls again, louder than before. "God damn it Jenna! Stop that! What kind of-"

She howls even louder than before, putting her whole entire soul into it. "Jesus, where did you learn to howl? The lumber mill? Jesus, you made my blood run cold."

Jenna glares at him. "Oh, like you can do it better."

Alex smiles at her. "Oh, but I can."

He sits on his haunches and howls, within his howl; he told the whole world of everything that he had experienced and what he had lost. He told the world how depressed he is and how much pain is in his heart.

When he finished, he looks down and sees Jenna crying. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, that was beautiful… and sorrowful! Oh, and the doctor is behind you."

Alex turns his head and sees the town's doctor standing behind him. "Oh you poor thing! What did that to you," asks the doctor.

Alex looks back at Jenna. "I see what you did. You made me howl to get his attention."

Jenna smiles at him and stands up. "How do you think I got Balto taken care of when Steele had beaten him to a pulp?"

The doctor carefully picks up Alex and takes him inside leaving behind a bird, two polar bears, and Jenna.

* * *

Hunter is sitting on the roof of the post office watching Kodi and the sled team coming into town.

"Well, at least they're okay."

He looks onto the street and remembers the fight from earlier. "At least they had a good time. His father and uncles are killing each other and he has no idea."

As they enter the town, Hunter sighs heavily. "Balto will be glad to know that his son is okay."

He goes to the very back and jumps down and lands on a stack of crates. He climbs off the crates and runs around the building to the street and stops on the side.

Kodi sees him and smiles. "Hey Uncle Hunter! Have you seen my dad, or maybe my other uncles?"

Hunter chuckles at the question. "Jesus, how many uncles do you have?"

"Well, I would say seven. Anyways, can you go tell my dad or my other uncles that I'm alright?"

Hunter nods his head. "Yeah, of course I can do that."

He turns and runs off towards Jenna's house.

* * *

Balto is lying on the couch relaxing. Everything that had happened earlier is making him restless. He couldn't sleep and he was doing everything in his power to not move.

Suddenly, he hears scratching at the door. He gets up and walks to the door. He lifts his snout up and with enough effort; he manages to twist the door knob open. He pushes the door open and sees Hunter standing on the porch.

"Hunter? What are you doing here?"

"Balto, your son is back. I just came to let you know."

Balto smiles at Hunter. "Thank you for letting me know. How's your brother doing?"

"He'll be fine. You did a number on him though. It took me awhile to clean his wounds."

Balto looks down in shame. "Oh, I'm… I'm sorry I did that. I… I just lost control."

Hunter sighs heavily. "Balto, you don't have to apologize. He deserved an ass kicking and you gave it to him. So don't apologize for that. You did the right thing."

"I know, but I still feel bad about it."

"Balto, it's okay. He deserved it. Now let's go see your son."

Balto nods his head and he follows Hunter to the post office.

* * *

Elizabeth is lying on her side. She felt really uncomfortable when she had lain down on her stomach.

As she's lying there, she hears Jake say, "Yeah, I don't know how, but my dog is pregnant. I think it is Alex's litter."

She looks up and sees Jake is talking to one of his buddies, some guy named Isaac Thorne, about… her.

"She's pregnant? With that outcast's pups? You should put her down. Last thing we need is more dogs that are part wolf."

Well, maybe they weren't friends.

"Isaac, get off my property! I will not kill my dog because she's having Alex's puppies! Besides, Alex lives with us. He isn't an outcast anymore. Now for the last time, get your stinking carcass off of my property you piece of shit!"

Elizabeth watches Isaac turn around and walk away.

Jake closes the door and walks towards Elizabeth. He stops in front of her and kneels down and starts to pet her.

"There there sweetie. Everything will be alright. That bad man won't hurt you. I promise."

Elizabeth smiles and licks his cheek.

* * *

Alex is lying in the hospital, unconscious still from the 'operation' he had done. He cleaned the wound and after that, he bandaged him.

"You poor thing. Whatever you got in a fight with sure gave you a beating. But don't worry; I'll take care of you."

* * *

Hunter and Balto are talking to Kodi.

"So how was the trip," asks Balto.

"It was fine dad. Ralph was being a little slow today-"

"Or were you being a little too fast?"

"That was probably it as well."

Hunter shakes his head. "Kodi, I know how much you love being the lead dog, but you have to be a team player. You may not understand now, but when you have pups, you can't expect them to just go along with whatever you're doing, you have to go along with whatever they're doing."

Kodi turns to Hunter and frowns. "Yeah, but do you know what it's like to raise a family?"

Balto growls at Kodi. "Kodi, don't talk to him like that. Now apologize to him."

"Fine. Hunter, I'm sorry."

"Kodi, sometimes, you should watch what you're saying to people. If I wasn't your uncle, I'd tear you apart," responds Hunter, "besides, if Alex was here, he'd tell you the same thing. Speaking of which; where is he?"

"Last I saw him; he was heading to Dead Horse."

"Dead Horse? He said he would go in three weeks plus. Why did he go now?"

Balto shakes his head. "No, he came back. I don't know where he is now, but he's somewhere."

Kodi looks past the two and smiles. "Hi mom!"

Jenna sits near Balto and smiles. "Hey sweetie! How was your run?"

"It was fine mom."

"Well that's good."

Hunter looks at Jenna and frowns. "Hey, do you know where Alex is?"

Jenna nods her head. "Yeah, last time I saw him he was being taken inside the hospital."

"The hospital? Why?"

"Something… something attacked him. He didn't see it, mostly because it's dark. Whatever got him caused a lot of damage! There were three long, deep slashes on his back. Blood was dripping all over the place."

Hunter looks at the hospital. "Poor Alex. I hope you're alright."

**A/N: I'm starting to lose this story within my head so expect delays with the chapters. Don't worry, I will not post a four hundred word chapter. They will always be a thousand plus.**

**Anyways, thank you for the reviews! It makes me excited to write! :D**

**Speaking of writing, if anyone has any ideas on where they want this story to go or even want to make the chapters longer or want to write some chapters, just pm me. It'll make this a lot easier. But you have to be comfortable with writing sex scenes, and I mean like almost lemon scenes. No bullshit scenes. **

**R&R**


	7. First Attack

_First Attack_

"We are all victims. Every day, someone is a victim of something. No one understands that when you are a true victim, your views on life changes forever."

-Kyle

* * *

"… What… where am I?"

"Nurse! He's coming to! Open the door so he doesn't have to exert himself trying to open it!"

The nurse sprints to the door and swings it open. Alex lifts his head and stares at her in amusement.

"What the hell was that about?"

The nurse runs off to the front door and opens it so Alex could leave. Alex pushes himself to his feet and climbs off the bed. He walks to the front door and exits the hospital.

* * *

As he stepped onto the snow, he sighs in relief. He doesn't like to be indoors too long. It makes him feel trapped.

He hears someone shout, "Hey Alex!"

Alex looks around and sees Balto walking towards him. "Oh, hi Balto."

Balto approaches Alex and frowns. "You don't look so good. Are you alright?"

Alex shakes his head, but stops when he starts to get dazed. "N-no, I feel like I died and came back."

"Well that's not good. Do you need something you eat?"

Alex nods his head. "Yeah, I'm starving."

"Well that's good to hear because the butcher gave me some sausages if you want some."

"Ok, but we're splitting them in half. We will not eat from the opposite sides until we reach the middle."

"Actually, you can eat the whole thing. I'm not hungry since I already ate."

Alex smiles, but then says, "Jenna has a shitty howl."

"Oh, she got you with that too?"

"Well… yeah."

"Don't worry. First time she did that with me, I ended up making love to her."

"Jesus, I don't want to know that."

"Well, now you know. But don't go around thinking you're going to get screwed by Jenna. She and I are mates."

Alex frowns at him. "Why would I do that? I would never do something like that. Who's convinced you that I would do that?"

"Sorry, I just get… you know, a little worked up. That jerk, Steele, has always tried to turn her against me. I just get paranoid, that's all."

"Hey, don't worry about it. If I wanted Jenna, you would know."

"Let's talk about something else."

"Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

"Well, my son is back."

"Did he see anything?"

Balto frowns at Alex. "What do you mean 'did he see anything'?"

"Well, there's something out there. Something dangerous."

"How do you know it's dangerous?"

"I just do."

"What makes you think it's dangerous?"

"The fact that I was in the hospital should tell you something."

"Well, I don't want to go on some bloody creature hunt for nothing."

"And I don't want to stay here and have some bloody creature hunt me!"

Balto turns around, but says to Alex, "Elizabeth is pregnant. Do not go looking for the creature when you are a soon-to-be dad. Do you understand?"

Alex nods his head. "Yeah, I understand."

* * *

_Four hours later_

"I thought we weren't going to do this?"

"Shut up Ryan! I want to know what this creature is and what it is doing."

"Alex, my brother and I are a bit skeptical about doing this."

"Hunter relax. Besides, there are four of us and one of it. What's it going to do?"

Alex, Hunter, Ryan, and Kyle are walking through the forest in the dark. Whatever was out here, they were going to find it.

"Kyle, stick to the leader," says Hunter.

"You got it."

Kyle runs up to where Alex is and slows down so that he's right alongside him.

"So, you get sent up here by Hunter?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason. Just wondering, that's all."

"Were you not listening to him?"

Alex chuckles slightly. "No, I was more focused on something else."

Alex suddenly stops and starts to scent the air.

"What is it," Hunter asks.

"I smell something. Whatever it is, it's coming straight for us."

Immediately, something bursts out of the trees.

"Holy shit! What the fuck is that," screams Hunter.

"Jesus Christ," shouts Kyle.

"Oh… My… God," yells Ryan.

"That Hunter, is the creature we're looking for," answers Alex.

The creature roars and Alex growls at it.

"Jesus Alex! Don't cause it to attack," shouts Ryan.

The creature focuses on Alex and charges. Alex growls loudly and when the creature was a few feet in front of him, he lunges and bites down on the creature's leg. The creature howls and tries to shake Alex off. Kyle and Hunter sprint towards the creature and jump onto the creature's back.

Ryan watches as the creature throws Kyle off of its back. "Oh Jesus Christ!"

The creature reaches down and grabs Alex. Ryan watches as it tosses him and he slides towards the cliff's edge.

"Oh shit!"

Ryan races towards Alex, but he's too late as Alex slides off the edge. Ryan stops on the edge and looks down to see Alex lying on his side on another ledge about five feet below him. He hears the creature stumbling towards him. He turns around and sees that it's right in front of him.

"Oh shit!"

The creature lunges and Ryan darts to the right. The creature's momentum was too great and it ran right off the cliff. Ryan looks down and sees that it had missed the ledge and plummeted straight to the bottom.

Ryan looks at Alex. "Alex, try to climb up!"

Alex remains motionless. "Alex, please! You have to climb up!"

Kyle walks over and sees Alex is lying on his side. "Alex, move your ass!"

Alex gives no response; it's as if he's dead.

Kyle starts to cry, but something moving brings him to attention. He looks down and sees Alex is pushing himself to his feet, albeit slowly and painfully.

"Alex! You're alive!"

Alex doesn't respond and when he faces the ledge, Kyle sees that there's blood on the side of his muzzle.

"Alex, you have to climb! Put everything you got into it! Climb!"

Alex moves to the edge and looks up. "I… I don't think I can make it."

"Bullshit! Climb damn it! Climb!"

Alex stands on his hind legs and brings his forelegs onto the cliff wall. "I… I can't do it."

"Yes you can Alex! You can do this! I know you can! You can do anything!"

Alex starts to put effort into the climbing, but a loud crack causes him to stop. He looks down and sees that the ledge he's on is beginning to break.

"Alex, move! If you won't do it for us, do it for Elizabeth!"

**A/N: Does Alex make it? You'll find out. :D**

**Please leave a review and if you want to decide Alex's fate, just leave it in the review on what you want to happen to him. R&R**


	8. Fate A

_Fate A_

"Do I believe in fate? Fate is that one thing that basically tells us that no matter what, life doesn't fucking change. Was it fate that decided to let Alex…? Was it fate that let someone become unsuccessful? Fate doesn't mean a damn thing."

-Ryan

* * *

"You can make it! You have to," shouts Kyle.

Alex is using everything he has to climb the cliff wall.

"It's not that far! Just… Just try to get your paws on top of the ledge!"

Alex is straining every muscle in his body to climb. "I… I can't!"

"What are you talking about? You've climbed Town Hall! That was taller than this! If you can do that, you can do anything!"

Alex sighs heavily. "Fine… I can do this… I can do this."

Alex digs his claws into the cliff wall and, with one strenuous reach, manages to place one of his paws on the ledge.

"That's it! Keep going Alex! Keep going!"

Alex gets his second paw onto the ledge. The ledge below him suddenly breaks off and goes crashing to the bottom. Kyle watches as Alex puts his back feet onto the wall and starts to push himself up.

"That's it Alex! You can do it!"

* * *

Balto is walking to Jenna's house. He knew Alex would be taking his advice and would stay home with Elizabeth. Or so he thought.

He sees Kaltag, Nikki, and Star sitting on the side of the road talking.

"Hey, Kaltag, Nikki, Star, have you guys seen Alex or the others?"

Nikki nods his head. "Of course we did. We saws them heading out towards the forest."

"Yeah, they were heading in the direction of White Mountain," confirms Kaltag.

Balto sighs in frustration. "He still went after it, even when I told him not too? I'm going to teach him a lesson."

"What, are you going to beat them up?"

"No, I'm going to explain to them not to do that ever again."

Balto turns towards the direction Alex and the others went and sprints to them. He's going to give them a lesson that they will never forget.

* * *

"That's it Alex! You're almost there! Just a little further now!"

Alex is pulling himself up as much as he can. Finally, he pulls himself up just enough so that he can get both of his feet up.

"Alex, you did it!"

Alex stands up and starts to laugh. "Yeah, I did it!"

Ryan runs over and laughs. "Oh my God! I thought you were going to die! But you beat the odds!"

"Yeah, he beat the odds alright," says an all too familiar voice.

"Oh shit. It's Balto."

Balto is standing in front of them with anger showing in his eyes. "I told you not to come here!"

"Hey, how did you get here so quickly?"

"I took a shortcut, but mostly you guys were a lot closer than I thought."

"Oh, that's how you did it."

"Yeah, now shut up. You guys weren't supposed to be here! Now go back home! I'll deal with you four later."

**A/N: This is Fate A with Alex alive. Any chapters after Fate A will have Alex alive. Any chapters after Fate B will not. So try not to get confused. So choose your destiny... when that becomes available. R&R**


	9. Fate B

_Fate B_

"Do I believe in fate? Fate is that one thing that basically tells us that no matter what, life doesn't fucking change. Was it fate that decided to let Alex…? Was it fate that let someone become unsuccessful? Fate doesn't mean a damn thing."

-Ryan

* * *

"You can make it! You have to," shouts Kyle.

Alex is using everything he has to climb the cliff wall.

"It's not that far! Just… Just try to get your paws on top of the ledge!"

Alex is straining every muscle in his body to climb. "I… I can't!"

"What are you talking about? You've climbed Town Hall! That was taller than this! If you can do that, you can do anything!"

Alex sighs heavily. "Fine… I can do this… I can do this."

Alex digs his claws into the cliff wall and, with one strenuous reach, manages to place one of his paws on the ledge.

"That's it! Keep going Alex! Keep going!"

Alex gets his second paw onto the ledge. The ledge below him suddenly breaks off and goes crashing to the bottom. Kyle watches as Alex puts his back feet onto the wall and starts to push himself up.

"That's it Alex! You can do it!"

* * *

Balto is walking to Jenna's house. He knew Alex would be taking his advice and would stay home with Elizabeth. Or so he thought.

He sees Kaltag, Nikki, and Star sitting on the side of the road talking.

"Hey, Kaltag, Nikki, Star, have you guys seen Alex or the others?"

Nikki nods his head. "Of course we did. We saws them heading out towards the forest."

"Yeah, they were heading in the direction of White Mountain," confirms Kaltag.

Balto sighs in frustration. "He still went after it, even when I told him not too? I'm going to teach him a lesson."

"What, are you going to beat them up?"

"No, I'm going to explain to them not to do that ever again."

Balto turns towards the direction Alex and the others went and sprints to them. He's going to give them a lesson that they will never forget.

* * *

"That's it Alex! You're almost there! Just a little further now!"

Alex is pulling himself up as much as he can. Finally, he pulls himself up just enough so that he can get both of his feet up.

Kyle starts to laugh, but the celebration was cut short when the ledge Alex is standing on gives way and breaks off of the cliff wall. Alex goes tumbling to the bottom and when he hits the snow, the broken cliff piece smashes into the ground right next to him.

"Alex!"

"What happened," asks Ryan.

"The ledge broke. He's down there!"

Ryan looks over the edge and sees Alex's motionless body lying in the snow. "Jesus, what the hell happened?"

"I already told you! He fell when the ledge broke!"

"Is he… dead?"

"Might as well be," says Hunter, "there's no way we can help him from here."

"You don't know that Hunter! How would you feel if you were down there and we left you to die?!"

"Well, I'd probably be upset at first, but then I'd understand why."

"And how do you think he'd feel knowing we left him to die?"

"I'd say he'd be upset."

"What are you guys yelling about?!"

Ryan turns to looks and sees Balto. "Balto, Alex… he fell."

"How far?"

"Just… look."

Balto walks over to the edge and sees Alex's lifeless body lying in the snow.

"Is he alive?"

"We don't know."

Balto starts to tear up and he knows the decision he has to make.

"Guys, we… we can't get down there. If we do, there's no way we can rescue him. I'm sorry, but-"

"Balto, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we have to leave him."

"What?! We can't leave him!"

"I'm sorry, but we have to. If we try to rescue him, we'll end up just like him. So we have to go."

Kyle starts to cry even harder. "W-we c-can't j-just leave him! H-he has t-to c-come with us!"

Balto looks down and tears start streaming down his muzzle. "I-I'm sorry Kyle, but we have to go."

Hunter and Ryan move alongside Kyle and they pull him away, all the while he's screaming and tears are falling from his eyes.

As Balto is walking away, he looks back and says, "I'm sorry Alex," before catching up with the three and leading them home.

* * *

Alex is in a daze. Everything seemed so far off and yet so close. He remembers that he fell and when he landed, all of his pain disappeared. He pushes himself to his feet and sighs. For some reason, he never felt better.

All the sudden, the creature bursts from the snow and stands up. It looks at him and remains quiet.

"C'mon and get me you monster! Try to kill me!"

The creature sighs heavily. "I cannot kill you."

Alex stops and frowns. "You can talk?"

"You can understand me?"

"Well… yeah, which is weird because I didn't understand you before. What are you?"

"Well, I used to be a man, but now I'm something… contorted in Nature's image. What are you?"

"I'm a German shepherd/ wolf mix."

"No, I mean what are you now?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, there are two of you."

Alex frowns and when he looks around, he spots, to his horror, his body.

"What the hell? I'm… I'm dead?"

The creature shrugs his shoulders. "I guess so. Does this mean you're a ghost now?"

"I guess so, but I'm trying to figure out why I didn't see the light."

"Hey, who's the other one?"

Alex turns and sees a white wolf approaching him. "Who are you?"

"I… I am Aniu and you have passed on to the spirit world. What do you want to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to be a spirit guide, or do you want to do something else?"

"I want to punish the ones who killed me?"

"Killed you? You fell off a cliff."

"Yeah, but Hunter, Ryan, and Kyle didn't even try to save me. I want to tear them apart."

Aniu shakes her head in disapproval. "Alex, if you're going to do that, I want you to try to get out of your confusion."

Aniu disappears and Alex turns towards the creature. "So, do you want to help me?"

The creature shrugs its shoulders. "Nothing else to do."

Alex smiles, but then asks, "What's your name?"

"I lost my name so long ago that I don't even remember."

"Well, what should I call you?"

"My friends used to call me Ironside."

"Well, nice to meet you Ironside. My name is Alex and I'm going to get my revenge."

**A/N: Well, this is Fate B. Alex is a ghost and is looking for revenge. Will he get it? R&R**


End file.
